The Politics of Cycling
On Wednesday morning, active duty and retired troops healing their war wounds with bicycles were singled out for their service by Governor Bill Ritter during a press conference.
I have been riding with the red, white, and blue brigade, called Ride 2 Recovery, that began its trek in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and will finish today at Fort Carson.
The governor's praise---delivered to an audience of local riders decked out in spandex to hear legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong announce a new, multi-stage elite race for Colorado in 2011---was another sign of the governor's dedication to the cause, which he shares with the Democrat running for his seat, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
But is it all part of a conspiracy?
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes (pictured) has accused Hickenlooper of allowing the B-Cycle bike-sharing program to infiltrate Denver, where it might well threaten residents' "personal freedoms" and cede local control to a United Nations treaty (via The Associated Press).
Denver does belong to the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, an association of more than 1,200 communities, half of which are in the United States, notes The Denver Post. George Merritt, a spokesman for Hickenlooper's campaign, says the idea is "to bring cities from all over the world together to share best practices and help create the kinds of communities people want to live and do business in."
Bloggers are having a field day with Maes. At Westword, Michael Roberts wonders what's next, pointing to other efforts that might turn us into "globalism-loving, freedom-challenged automatons. Street-side recycling programs send a message that we should be conserving resources, which is bad for reasons we'll think of after running over a B-Cycle in our Hummer."
Meanwhile, Maes' primary opponent, former Congressman Scott McInnis, is pressing Maes to explain his history of delinquent personal and political paperwork, writes the Post, in a separate article. And as for Hickenlooper, it looks like he's selected a running mate: Colorado State University-Pueblo President Joe Garcia (also via the Post).Comments
Submitted by Jeff Montgomery (not verified) on Thu, 2010-08-05 11:43.
Politically partisan bloggers often miss the forest for the trees.
In the case of the Westword example, it sounds like the mockery of someone who is blind to the issue of personal freedom. If you don't think that people have inalienable rights that must be fought for, what's one more public transportation program? It then becomes solely an issue of whether bikes are good idea or not. But that's not the underlying issue Maes is raising, and Roberts should have seen that.
That said, Maes is asking for punishment by venturing into conspiracy territory. Conspiracy is the last resort of those who tend to view things more in terms of concrete issues than abstract principles.
The principle that I wish Maes would speak of instead is that we should have the right to decide how our income is spent, regardless of how worthy a public goal is. We don't need the UN's involvement to be concerned about that.
Submitted by » Who Will Stand With Dan Maes? | 5280 Magazine (not verified) on Mon, 2010-08-16 12:01.
[...] Dan Maes isn’t being lambasted for singling out Denver’s bicycle-sharing program as an example of the sort of thing that threatens U.S. sovereignty, he seems to generate [...]
Submitted by » Why the Denver Cruisers Are Thanking Dan Maes | 5280 (not verified) on Wed, 2010-08-25 09:01.
[...] Maes just can’t get a break on the bicycle issue. The Republican candidate for governor—who accused his Democratic opponent, Denver Mayor John [...]
